PORTSMOUTH

A police officer has been placed on leave after being charged with drunken driving following a wreck early today while he was off duty.

Ann Hope, a police spokeswoman, said Officer Wayne Sherman was charged after the vehicle he was driving allegedly struck the rear of another in the Midtown Tunnel.

The collision occurred at 1:53 a.m., Hope said, in the lane heading from Portsmouth to Norfolk.

Hope said both drivers were treated and released from a local hospital with minor injuries.

Sherman was driving his personal vehicle, Hope said.

He will remain on leave as the investigation continues, she said.

A Portsmouth police sergeant was charged with DUI in 2004 after an accident at the same tunnel. He lost his job and was later convicted and fined.

Steve Stone, (757) 446-2319/2309, steve.stone@pilotonline.com [1]